1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an orbiting action device intended to be held in the hands of children and/or adults and manipulated by movement of the hands, wrists and/or arms, in combination with body and other limb movements, if desired, so as to effect orbiting movement of a movable object within the device in a required manner, with such orbiting movement requiring an element of skill to attain and maintain, thus providing a device which can provide endless amusement as a toy when used for recreational purposes, manual dexterity and exercise as an exercising aid when used for physical cultural purposes, and education as a demonstration aid when used for scientific and educational purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Manually-manipulatable toy devices requiring an element of manual dexterity are known and are disclosed, for example, in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,132,441; 3,423,872; 3,502,335; 3,702,191; 3,758,981 and 4,429,487. Such prior devices are manipulated to cause a ball to travel along a desired path or track, the ball always being in physical contact with a track or guiding surface of the device during the proper manipulation thereof.
Although generally satisfactory for their intended purposes, such prior devices do not require a high element of dexterity or skill to cause the ball to travel along the desired track due, primarily, to the fact that the ball always engages the track throughout the proper manipulation of the device. Older children and, particularly, adults are prone to become quickly bored with such devices which do not require a high element of skill and which are essentially too easy to master.